Sydney Look was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 16 years old. The condition causes her pancreas to produce little to no insulin, depriving her of the hormone that regulates her blood glucose levels.

“Diabetes is a 24/7 disease,” Look, 23, said. “I often wake up in the middle of the night to a high or a low, and that affects my sleep hygiene and how I do in school the next day.”

The medical student shared how the disease and its costs affect her life at the town hall on the high cost of insulin prescriptions at the Reitz Union on Tuesday night. The meeting was organized by Right Care Alliance of Gainesville, which Look is a member of, and UF’s Department of Pediatric Endocrinology.